14 March 2013: Kothari, Sitwala starts on the winning node

Playing his first game in the championship, Sitwala came out all guns blazing to reign supreme on the green baize at the Megapool Snooker Academy in Dwarka.

PSPB's Sitwala put on display fine potting skills to beat Delhi's Harpreet Singh 3-0 on the sixth day of the championship.

Singh tried his best to create an upset by showing good fighting skills in the first and second frames respectively but it was not the case to be as Sitwala's extensive playing experience held him in good stead.

In the other match of the day, 2011 IBSF World Billiards Championship semifinalist in Point Format, Kothari hardly broke a sweat against Jammu and Kashmir's Sumesh Turki as he put it across his opponent 3-0 with consummate ease to advance to the next round.

Kothari was in his elements today as he beat Turki 61-6 69-37 60-19.

The championship saw yet another upset in the form of Uttar Pradesh's Kankan Shamsi who went down fighting to Punjab's Deppinder Singh in a five-frame marathon.

The match lasted for four hours, the longest in the short history of the tournament, as the fortunes fluctuated from frame to the other.

Such was the intensity of the play that the three frames were decided on the black ball.

Former national junior champion, Rishabh Pandya, put paid to the hopes of Zainul Ansari en route his 3-0 thrashing of the Delhi boy in the Round of 64.

Manish Kukreja got the better of Uttar Pradesh's Vipin Premi 3-1 while tenth seed, Punjab's Manjot Singh defeated Delhi's Rishit Jain in straight frames.

Eight Ball Pool national champion, Sundeep Gulati, had to sweat it out against Sahil Nayyar to win 74-68 17-52 77-00 104-38.